1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to devices, systems and methods used for retracting organs and/or body tissue during surgical procedures and, more particularly, to endoscopic or laparoscopic apparatus, systems and methods for retracting or positioning body tissue and/or body organs during minimally invasive surgery.
2. Background of Related Art
As a result of the recent technological improvements in surgical instruments, surgical procedures, using minimally invasive techniques (e.g., endoscopic, laparoscopic, etc.), are routinely performed, which surgical procedures cause less trauma to the patient.
In endoscopic and laparoscopic surgical procedures, it is often necessary to provide instrumentation to move or manipulate tissue and organs located in the area of operation. Generally, laparoscopic surgical procedures involve the introduction of a gas, such as, carbon dioxide, to insufflate a body cavity, e.g., the abdomen, to provide a working area for the surgeon. After the abdomen is insufflated, a trocar device is utilized to puncture the peritoneum to provide an access port by way of a cannula through the abdominal wall for the introduction of surgical instrumentation. Generally, a trocar/cannula is placed through the abdominal wall for each piece of surgical instrumentation which is necessary to carry out the surgical procedure. In this manner, the surgeon may view the surgical site through an endoscope provided through a first trocar/cannula, and utilize a second trocar/cannula to introduce a surgical instrument such as a grasper, scissor, clip applier, stapler and any other surgical instrument which may be necessary during the particular surgical procedure.
Although the insufflation gas expands the abdomen to permit the surgeon to view the surgical site, it is often necessary to manipulate the internal organs or tissues to provide a clear path to the surgical objective. In the past, grasping tools have been utilized which pull on the organs or tissues to move them out of the way to provide a clear visual path for the surgeon. Endoscopic retractor mechanisms also have been developed which are utilized to push and hold the tissue or organs away from the surgical site. Typically, these devices include paddles and/or fingers which expand after the retractor has been inserted into the abdomen through the trocar cannula. Such devices are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,028 to Suma, U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,789 to Taguchi et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,505 to Josefsen. Other retractor devices include collapsible fingers joined by webs of resilient material which expand to form the retractor. These devices are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,042 to Sinnreich and U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,363 to Hasson. Other devices include retractors having expandable frames for supporting expandable latex sheaths or covers, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,133 to Pena
Current endoscopic retractors are typically based on a 10 mm instrument diameter platform. Accordingly, some minimally invasive surgical procedures have limitations due to the small internal diameter of many commonly used cannulas of trocar systems. However, as with most endoscopic instruments, if possible, a smaller diameter retraction device is preferred in order to reduce the amount of trauma to the patient. For example, many surgical procedures now utilize surgical devices based on a 5 mm instrument diameter platform. However, when using smaller diameter retraction devices, the amount of deflection at the distal end of the smaller diameter retraction device is relatively greater than the amount of deflection at the distal end of a larger diameter retraction device. This increased deflection is undesirable when attempting to retract body organs since the smaller diameter retraction device will have difficulty in clearing the surgical field to provide access for the surgeon to the surgical site.
Accordingly, a need exists for an endoscopic organ retraction system having sufficient strength and durability to retract body organs from the operative site and, more particularly, to an endoscopic organ retraction system which is relatively small and may be utilized with smaller conventional trocar cannulas to provide access to the site during an endoscopic or laparoscopic surgical procedure.
The device disclosed herein overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior art and provides a light weight endoscopic retractor which allows the surgeon to manipulate body organs and other body tissue.